The McCain Chronicles: Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda, Did

Palin says 17-year-old daughter is pregnant which pretty much effectively is like taking a shotgun to the bottom of the moral authority boat.

Bristol Palin is 17 years old and pregnant and mommy-VP-wanna-be couldn't be happier. Which is to say, Sarah Palin's all about breeding. The more the merrier, the sooner the better to make more. Or something.

I'm starting to wonder if McCain's camp even investigated her immediate family much less her business associates, cronies and special interest favors she's had to hand out to get elected.

I don't care so much about the unmarried part of this scandal but I do care about underage girls getting pregnant. Pretty clear evidence that a crime's been committed but that usually gets lost in the shuffle.

Methinks the cratering of the McCain campaign has begun in earnest.

He Blogs Politics So I Don't Have To

It helps that my pal Jack over at What Would Jack Do regularly blogs politics. I've tried to but I find myself shaking with rage far too often and that's just not healthy.

One of my favorite series he's been running is categorized as The Road to Hell is Paved with Republicans and has lately been detailing the myriad insanities muttered by John McCain on his trudge towards the glory of GOP nomination for President.

I know there are staunch Republicans who'd rather buy a hybrid than vote Democrat. And I suppose, on some levels, I can respect that loyalty although I'd metaphorize it into being the abusee in a dysfunctional relationship. Unless you've gotten rich over the last eight years, you're the backs the GOP has been standing on to get rich. If you have gotten rich then send some of the ill gotten loot my way (I promise to shut up if you do). Backing the Republican party at this juncture is like trying to live with your head in the sand. The GOP has made such a thorough clusterfucking mess of the world that its hard to remember that things weren't always so damned bleak and awful in the US.

There was a time when there were jobs, when there was money for everyone, when Americans abroad didn't pretend they were from Canada, there was a time when the presidential scandals involved plump interns, cigars and stained dresses. Now the scandals involve thousands of dead soldiers, an intractable war, an economy on life support with rolling blackouts and an overall level of venality unseen since Attila walked the earth.

I'm not saying everything will be all roses when Barack Obama is elected President. It won't. Ships don't right themselves in a heartbeat and the damage done over the last eight years will take some time to undo. But damn, oh damn it is about frigging time to start undoing the damage.

And voting for McCain is a vote for more of the same ugly bullshit politics we've suffered plenty of for the last 8 years. Aren't you ready for a real change? Aren't you ready for some hope and some light at the end of the long, angry tunnel? Barack Obama brings hope and a vision for the America we all know, remember and loved.

Anyway, Jack's got the quality GOP slammin' goods. Check him out. His truth only hurts those who aren't ready to open both eyes and recognize how deeply unfit John McCain is to lead this country.

McCain's Photo Op in Baghdad

Did you see any of those brave photos of John McCain in the Baghdad bazaar? If you didn't then he put all those American soldiers and the Iraqi merchant's lives at risk for nothing. Oh wait, that's exactly what he did.

What McCain didn't mention—but reporters who tagged along clearly saw—was that he and others in his party (including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, other Republican acolytes of Bush's and McCain's "progress" myth) were belted in protective body armor, surrounded by perhaps 100 heavily armed and helmeted troops and surveilled by armed Army security helicopters orbiting overhead.

And there were no Iraqi soldiers present at all. If they wanted to send a message that the Iraqi's were standing up so the US could stand down, then they failed. If they wanted to show what big, tough politicians they are, they failed. If they wanted to create an absolutely bullshit waste of time and resources and lives (the bazaar was bombed by the insurgents within 36 hours of the visit) then they succeeded as only John McCain can.

I used to respect McCain for surviving his ordeal in Vietnam and I still do respect that strength. But I expect a lot more than a lame dick photo op in an Iraqi bazaar to convince me of his worthiness of the most powerful seat on earth. In fact, his op has very capably demonstrated just how unfit he is to lead. Did he think twice about putting all those soldiers and merchants at risk? Did he care that he was the reason the bazaar was bombed the next day? Nope. He needed to boost his sagging poll numbers so damned the troops and damned the Iraqi merchants.

As a politician, he is an absolute pandering scumbag without any concerns about ethics or morals in achieving his goal. He has a slightly better chance at the Oval Office than I do.